Electroinductively actuated valve



May 5, 1953 Filed Aug. 22, 1949 R. B. MATTHEWS ELECTROINDUCTIVELY ACTUATED VALVE 2 SHEETS-SIRET l .ww u i n 2 SllEETS-SHEET 2 R. B. MATTHEWS ELECTROINDUCTIVELY ACTUATED VALVE May 5, 1953 Filed Aug. 22, 1949 i i l i l l l 8% Patented May 5, 1953 UNITED STATES PATENT @FFICE ELECTROINDUCTIVELY ACTUATED VALVE Application August 22, 1949, Serial N0. 111,621

7 Claims. l

This invention relates to valves and refers more particularly to valves actuated in response to energization and de-energization of a solenoid. This application is based upon a particular species of solenoid actuated valve simil-ar to those described and claimed more broadly in my copending application Serial No. 121,817, iiled October 17, 1949.

Solenoid actuated valves for controlling the oW of various types of iluid media have been known for many years, but heretofore such valves generally have been electromagnetically responsive, i. e. they depended upon magnetic attraction. Thus they comprised a solenoid wound about a magnetically permeable core or frame `having an air gap therein and a movable armature or plunger of permeable material adapted to be magnetically attracted to a position in which it closed or bridged the air gap. The plunger or armature was mechanically connected with the valve itself, so that actuation or" the valve was effected upon energization of the solenoid and consequent attraction of the plunger to the pole pieces at the air gap of the permeable frame.

As in such valves the magnetic attraction between the core or pole piece of a solenoid frame and its associated movable armature or plunger varies inversely as the square of the air gap distance between them, the force exerted upon the plunger is least at the beginning of its stroke and increases as the plunger approaches `the pole pieces.

However, Where the solenoid mechanism is employed to open a valve, the greatest force is required at the beginning of the plunger stroke, since at that point the valve is normally held against its seat by the pressure of the fluid being controlled, which, of course, must be overcome in order to unseat the valve. Once 'the valve has been cracked relatively little force is rem quired to move it to its wide open position. To supply the force needed for opening `the valve by means of the conventional solenoid, which provides the least amount of tractive force at the time when the greatest force is needed, and vice versa, it was necessary to use solenoids which were actually excessively powerful and which lconsumed disproportionately large amounts of current for the work actually required of them.

By contrast, it is an object of this invention. to provide a solenoid actuated valve in which the solenoid plunger instead of being made of magnetically permeable material is of nonrnagn netic but conductive material and so COnstlllcted that upon energization of the solenoid a magnetic iield is induced in the plunger, which opposes that of the solenoid, so that the plunger is repelled rather than attracted, to thus provide the greatest tractive force during initial movement of the plunger.

As a corollary another object of this invention resides in the provision of a solenoid actuated valve of the character described in which a relatively small solenoid, drawing a comparatively small amount of electrical power, Will be capable of controlling the iiow of a iluid under relatively high pressure.

Another object oi 'this invention is to provide a quietly operating valve by eliminating the impact which characterizes a conventional solenoid valve.

Another object of this invention is to provide an electrmresponsive valve actuating means which is equally adaptable to either normally open or normally closed valves.

In this connection it is another object of this invention to provide an electro-responsive valve actuator which need not be mounted in any one specified position but may be installed upside down or on its side.

Another object of this invention resides in `the provision of a solenoid actuated valve of the character described in which the unseating force required to be exerted upon the valve need only exceed the sealing force plus fluid pressure.

Another object of this invention resides in the provision of a compact and inexpensive solenoid actuated valve of the character described which will provide for a straight-through ow of fluid so that the capacity of the valve will be relatively large for its size.

Still another object of this invention resides in the provision of a solenoid actuated valve in which the plunger and valve are disposed for up and down movement but in which substantially the entire Weight of the valve and plunger assembly is counterbalanced so that it Will not be a factor in determining 'the tractive force required to eiect opening of the valve.

With the above and other objects in view, which will appear as the description proceeds, this invention resides in the novel constructiony combination and arrangement of parts substan tially as hereinafter described and more particularly defined by the appended claims, it being understood that such changes in the precise ernbodiment of the hereindisclosed invention may be made as come within the scope of the claims.

The accompanying drawings illustrate two complete examples of the physical embodiment of the invention constructed according to the best modes so far devised for the practical application of the principles thereof, and in which:

Figure 1 is a vertical sectional view of a solenoid actuated value embodying the principles of this invention;

Figure 2 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane of the line 22 in Figure l;

Figure 3 is a cross-sectional view taken along the plane of the line 3-3 in Figure 1;

Figure 4 is a top view of the valve device of this invention; and

Figure 5 is a view similar to Figure 3, but showing a modied embodiment of the invention.

Referring to the accompanying drawings, and more speciiicially to Figures 1 to 4, inclusive, the numeral 5 indicates generally the body portion of the solenoid actuated valve of this invention which is in the nature of a duct intended to be connected in a pipe line through which the iluid to be controlled flows.

Within this tubular body 5 is a valve structure indicated generally by the numeral held open as long as a solenoid coil 'd which surrounds the body structure remains de-energized and closed instantly upon energization of the coil by alternating current. The valve is, therefore, normally open. A steel bracket 8 adapted to be xed to an upright wall or other suitable support not only mounts the entire unit but overlies the exterior of the solenoid 'I to form part of its magnetic circuit; and a cover 9 also of magnetically permeable material coacts with the bracket to enclose the entire structure.

As will appear more `fully hereinafter the valve has a straight-through flow characteristic, the fluid entering the bottom, passing directly through the center o the device and leaving the top. The duct 5 is made up of five axially aligned tubular members, namely, an upper head it, an upper sleeve member I I, a center sleeve member I2, a lower sleeve member I3 and a lower head Ill. The axially outermost of these members are the upper head I and the lower head Id which are essentially pipe couplings of magnetically permeable material, and to facilitate production are identical.

To enable the device to be connected in a pipe line conveying the fluid which is to be controlled these upper and lower heads (I IJ and lli) have internal pipe taps and opposite at parallel races I with which a wrench may be engaged. Men dially of their ends the heads I@ and I4 have annular ilanges l5 between which the coil I is conned, a split conical spring washer Il being interposed between the upper end of the coil and the adjacent flange i3 to hold the coil, which is slightly shorter than the distance between the iianges I6, against endwise displacement. It is, of course, understood that the coil 'I is wound upon a spool I8 made of nonmagnetic material, and that when the coil is energized by alternating current, the upper and lower heads l@ and Id respectively take on the polarity of the adjacent ends of the coil, so that at any one instant the heads will have opposite polarity.

Arms IS extending forwardly from the mounting bracket 8 engage over the iianges I6 in magnetic flux conducting relation thereto and conne the entire device therebetween, the arms i9 being biurcated and the flattened opposite faces I5 of the heads engaging the straight inner edges of the bifurcations so that the device is held against rotation as shown in Figure 4 Apertured attaching ears 8' extend from the sides of the bracket to provide for its attachment and the cover 9 which is formed of sheet metal and substantially U-shaped in cross-section is held in place by outward projections 20 formed therein and engaging in notches or holes in outwardly projecting tongues 2| on the bracket.

Inside the solenoid 'I, the threeinnerparts of the composite duct assembly which comprise the body 5, namely the sleeves II, I2 and I3, have their adjacent ends nested one within the other and are brazed or bonded together as at 22. The heads I and I4 are screwed into the sleeves II and I3 respectively with gaskets 23 interposed between the ends of the sleeves and the adjacent undersides 0f the annular flanges I6 on the heads.

Attention is directed to the fact that the magnetically permeable sleeves II and I3 lproject axially into each end of the solenoid 1, and since they are joined to the heads I0 and I4, not only have the same polarity as the heads but extend the magnetic circuit for the coil 'I axially into opposite ends of the coil. The inner iiux path provided by the sleeves I I and I3, however, is interrupted by the non-magnetic sleeve I2 separating the sleeves II and I3.

The valve structure 6 within the body comprises an annular valve seat 24 of stainless steel or other hard material concentrically secured in the underside of a web or flange 25 formed integrally with the top of the lower sleeve member I3 and a cooperating valve 26 of leather, neoprene or the like carried by a spider 2l which is axially slidable in the lower sleeve member I3 below the valve seat 24. A compression spring 28 conned between the underside of the spider and the lower head I4 yieldingly urges the valve toward its seated position and seats the same when the solenoid is energized as will be hereinafter more fully explained. When thus seated the valve shuts off the flow of fluid upwardly through the device but when unseated such fluid flow is permitted axially through the annular valve seat and an upright inner duct 30 of magnetically permeable material having its lower end joined to the web or ange 25 and its upper end portion projecting into the lower end of the sleeve I I and spaced from the head I0. It is important to note that the radial space between the upper end portion of the inner duct 30 and the sleeve II is less than the spacing between either the upper free end of the inner duct and the head Ill, or that between the adjacent ends of the sleeves II and I3, so that the magnetic circuit around the coil 'I may be said to be closed at its lower end and open at its upper end adjacent to the free end of the inner duct 30. Consequently, all of the magnetic iiux generated by the coil 'I will be concentrated across the radial air gap between the free end portion of the inner duct and the lower end portion of the sleeve I I and the direction of the eld across the radial air gap will depend upon the polarity of the upper pola-r end of the solenoid and consequently sleeve I I at any one instant, it being understood that the upper end of the duct 30 encircled by the sleeve II will be of opposite polarity at said instant since it is magnetically connected with the lower polar end of the coil 'I. l

Since the web or flange 25 is imperforate, a of the uid entering the lower end of the tubular body will be constrained to pass through the inner duct 30. Control of the iiow of such fluid is therefore readily effected by means of the valve 26.

aeszats The valve 26 is normally held in open position by the weight of a secondary coil or plunger comprising a heavy ring or collar 3i of copper or other highly conductive non-magnetic material,

sliclably mounted in the air gap between the inner duct 30 and the outer sleeve il, and having an axial length suilicient to extend a substantial distance to either side of the junction between the nonrnagnetic center sleeve or duct member l2 and the upper sleeve or duct member il. The plunger is guided for up and down motion by sliding upon the inner duct Sil and to preclude sticking which might result from the rat-he r rapid corrosion of copper by the sulphur and other corrosive impurities in gas, the bore of the plunger is lined with an aluminum sleeve Since the heads It and Ill and the upper and lower sleeves or duct members il I3 well as the inner duct lll are all made ci magnetically permeable material (such as SAE. #i020 mild steel) it will be seen that the flux ileld generated by the solenoid coil 'l will lie in a continuous magnetically permeable path which entends through the head members it and lll, their flanges ifi, the bracket il, cover 9, and the upper and lower duct members li and i3 respectively, well as the inner duct Bt; while the nonniagneticcenter sleeve or duct member l2 provides a. discontinuity in the permeable 'frame or core surrounding the coil so that all of the flux generated by the coil l must pass across the radial air between the upper sleeve or duct member il and the inner duct Eil. In this connection will be noted that the inner duct 3l) is long enough to have its upper end portion radially opposite the upper sleeve or duct member il so that the plunger is inductively interlinked with the coil Energization of the solenoid coil l with alternating current will result in the generation oi a flux eld of alternating` polarity the air gap between the overlapped ends of the inner and outer sleeves or duct members and consequently, since the plunger 3i is in effect a closed loop good conductivity there will be induced :in the plunger by transformer action an alternating current of substantially opposite polarity to that impressed upon the solenoid in its own right, and the alternating current so induced in it will in turn induce an alternating flux held about the plunger.

The held induced by the 9111115561', hwei, all all times opposes the field across the upper por@ tion of the air gap and reinforces the air gap field across the lower portion of the gap reinste from the free end of the inner duct Sil. As a result the plunger will .be repelled upwardly away from the lower closed end of the magnetic circuit for the coil l' whenever the solenoid is enerw gized, toward a position of equilibrium between the linx heide, which position is suliciently high to enable the spring t to seat valve .Although the phase o current .induced in the plunger 3l is substantially opposite to of the applied E. M. F., current now is nevertheless in the same direction around the solenoid and plunger. Hence, at any one instant, as when the direction of the flux held across the radial gap is from the inner duct 3@ to the sleeve i il current flows in a direction in the plunger such that the nur: held generated thereby travels toroidally about the plunger, down its interior and upwardly along its exterior, and consequently radially inwardly at the top portion of the plunger counter to the air gap thereat, and radially outwardly at the bottom DOI'OD 0f f to the top of the 6. the plunger in the direction of the air gap field adjacent to the bottom of the plunger. This has the effect of diminishing or weakening the air gap field above the plunger while reinforcing the air gap field adjacent to the bottom of the plunger to make it considerably stronger than that at its top. Since the resulting force on the plunger is in the direction from the stronger neld to the weaker iield, the plunger is repelled with substantial force upwardly away from the closed end of the magnetic circuit, toward a raised position outside the iniluence of the air gap cld between the overlapping portions of the inner duct Bil and the sleeve i l. As the plunger is repelled upwardly, however, the repelling force diminishes until it is lust sufficient to balance the weight of the plunger, and equilibrium results at a position of the plunger' sufficiently high to assure seating of the valve 26 by the spring 23.

Obviously, when current flows through the fixed solenoid in the reverse direction, the air gap field is inwardly from the sleeve il to the inner duct 3Q; and the current induced in the plunger eiects generation of a toroidal ux field thereabout extending downwardly around the exterior of the plunger and upwardly through its interior, so that the direction of the field about the plunger will again be counter tothe air gap :held at the up' er portion of the plunger and in the saine direction as the air gap field adjacent to the bottoni ci the plunger, to thus create the stronger magnetic field at the lower end portion of the plunger and upward repulsion of the saine toward the position of the equilibrium.

lt is important to note that the repulsion of the plunger in a direction away from the closed or the magnetic circuit around the coil '5, or outwardly ci the free end of the inner duct S9, assured by the fact that the overlap-ping portions of the tubular elements defining the radial air gap are magnetically connected to the opposite polar of the solenoid l. 'lhus the polarity of the free end portion of the inner duct will always correspond to the polarity o the end of the solenoid remote therefrom and to which it is magnetically connected, while the polarity ci' the outer sleeve it will always have the saine polarity as the opposite end of the solenoid, to which the sleeve il is magnetically connected.

Downward motion of the plunger 3E in consequence to de-energization oi' the coil 'i transmitted to the spider 2l, and thus to valve through a rod or stein 33 extending axially down from a crossbar 3.4i brazed or otherwise secured plunger. The upper end of the stern is 'threaded into a tapped hole in the center of the crossbar, its lower end is stepped into a well ,'l in the hub 3E oi the spider 2l.

The diameter of the well 35 is slightly larger than that of the stern portion-received therein so as to compensate for any possible axial misalignrnent between the plunger and the spider, while at the saine Le affording some guidance to the spider to prevent tipping thereof. Normally the stern and spider move in unison, being held against axial separation by the weight of the plunger acting downwardly upon the stern and against the force of the compression spring 3. i

The spider ii'which is,v of course, perforated to permit huid now therepast is preferably hex agonal or otherwise polygonal, and of a size to slidably lit the bore of the sleeve of duct meinber I3, the polygonal shapeprovidng guidance with a minimum of contact between the spider and the sleeve. The underside of the spider has a peripheral flange 31 to center the spring 28.

The valve 26 overlies the upper surface of the spider and is held in place thereon by an upward extension 38' of its hub which extends up through closely fitting holes in the valve and in a metal washer 33 overlying the valve.

Since the valve is normally open and is soheld by the weight of the plunger 3i the spring must be light enough to preclude its overbalancing the weight of the plunger; but as will bereadily apparent the spring will materially assist the inductive reaction during closure of the valve.

In the modified embodiment of the invention, shown in Figure the valve is normally closed, but in many respects the two embodiments of the invention are structurally similar. The tubular body 5 is again made up of upper and lower inlet and outlet heads IU and I4 respectively, upper and lower sleeve or duct members Il and i3 respectively and a center sleeve member I2 of stainless steel or other nonmagnetic metal; but in this instance the inner duct 4i] extends down from a web or flange 4I at the top of the upper sleeve member Il and the valve seat 42 is at the lower open end of the depending tubular post which forms the inner duct.

The valve 43 as before is carried on the topl side of a spider 44 which in turn is connected 5 directly to the lower end of the plunger cylinder 45 by a plurality of spaced apart posts 46. These connector posts may be of any nonmagnetic material. Since the valve is designed to be normally closed the plunger cylinder is made of aluminum for lightness even though it entails a sacrice in conductivity as compared to copper; and as before the plunger is slidably received in the annular space between the overlapping ends of the lower sleeve member I 3 and the inner duct di).

A compression spring 41 confined between the lower inlet head I4 and the spider 44 slightly overbalances the weight of the plunger cylinder to close the valve when the solenoid `coil 'l is deenergized. In this form of the invention the advantage of magnetic repulsion as distinguished from magnetic attraction is especially important since in this case energization of the solenoid opens the valve against the fluid pressure.

Attention is directed to the fact that the valve of Figure 5 need not be mounted in any specied position. It may be turned on end, i. e. upside down, in which case gravity will aid the force of the spring 47 to hold the valve closed. Of course, if the valve is mounted this way, slightly more power will be required to open it due to the need for lifting the weight of the plunger and valve assembly; and consequently the Figure 5 valve when inverted in this manner will not achieve one of the objects which is otherwise attained by valves of this invention, namely the counterbalancing of substantially the entire weight of the valve and plunger assembly, but this is not serious in view of the advantage of maximum power at initial operation which characterizes magnetic repulsion.

Also, since as a result of magnetic repulsion the plunger tends to center itself in its annular passage, the valve may be installed horizontally, and when so installed will work quite freely, Whereas in a conventional solenoid actuated valve in which the armature is attracted upon energization of the coil, the plunger would be drawn to one side of its guide and become stuck.

From the foregoing description, taken together with the accompanying drawings, it will be apparent that this invention provides an efficient and unusually compact solenoid actuated valve which is well adapted for use in safety controls since its nonmagnetic plunger and magnetic repulsion mode of operation precludes hang-up of the plunger due to residual magnetism as encountered in conventional solenoids, and because of its quiet impactless operation. It will also be seen that the present invention makes it possible for the plunger to move axially away from the closed end of the magnetic circuit as voltage is increased, thereby maintaining wattage input at a constant value. Hence, the solenoid of this invention is far more efcient than conventional solenoids.

What I claim as my invention is:

l. A solenoid actuated valve for controlling the flow of a iuid under pressure, comprising: an outer duct having a uid inlet at one end and a coaxial outlet at its other end, the oppositeend portions of said duct being magnetically permeable and an intermediate portion of the duct being non-magnetically permeable; an A. C. solenoid surrounding said outer duct and xed with respect thereto; magnetically permeable frame means extending around the exterior of said soleand magnetically connected with the opposite end portions of said outer duct; a magnetically permeable inner duct having an outside diameter substantially smaller than the inside diameter of said outer duct; magnetically permeable means joining one end portion of the inner duct with one of said permeable end portions of the outer duct to iixedly secure the inner duct ccaxially within the outer duct with the opposite end portion of the inner duct radially opposite the other end portion of the duct and terminating within the same to denne a radial air gap in the magnetic circuit including said frame means and said magnetically permeable ducts in which the magnetic flux generated by the fixed solenoid is concentrated, said magnetically pernieable means also constraining fluid entering the outer duct to pass through the inner duct; an annular valve seat at one end of the inner duct; a valve inside the outer duct adjacent to said seat and movable back and forth toward and from engagement with the seat to control the fiow of iiuid `through the inner duct; a movable solenoid disposed in said radial air gap so as to be inductively coupled with the iixed solenoid, and constrained to endwise back and forth movement axially in said air gap; means including a spring supporting the movable solenoid in a predetermined axial position in said air gap out of which the movable solenoid may be moved in one direction by repulsion due to the combined effects of the magnetic field generated by the xed solenoid and that generated by the E. M. F. induced in the movable solenoid in consequence to energization of the fixed solenoid; and a connection between the movable solenoid and the valve for effecting movement of the valve to and from engagement with its seat in consequence to back and forth lmovement of said movable solenoid.

2. The Valve set forth in claim l wherein the spring which yieldingly supports the movable solenoid in a predetermined axial `position in the radial air gap exerts a yielding force on the valve tending to seat lthe same.

y 3. rEhe valve set forth in claim l wherein said spring normally yieldingly holds the valve seated, and wherein the valve is opened against the biasing force thereon by repulsion of the movable solenoid in consequence to encrgisation of the ixed solenoid.

4. The valve set forth in claim 1 further characterized by the fact that the valve is carried by a spider having guiding engagement with the Wall of the outer duct; and by the fact that said movable solenoid has guiding engagement with a Wall of one of the ducts and carries a rigid coaxial stern an outer end portion of which is loosely received in a well in the spider to thereby preclude tilting of the spider While at the same time permitting slight radial shifting between the movable solenoid and the spider.

5. The valve set forth in claim Il wherein spring exerts a force on the spider tending to move it in the same direction in which the inovable solenoid is repelled, and wherein the valve is mounted on the spider so as to be yieldingly urged toward its seated position by the spring whenever the stern. on the movable solenoid moves in a direction outwardly of the weil in the spider.

6. In a valve: spaced concentric inner and onter tubular members defining a ilnid passageway through the valve, said members being fined with respect to one another and the outer tubular member extending a distance beyond one end of the inner tubular member to denne a valve chain-- ber; a valve element in said chamber movable to and trom a position closing oil the flow of fluid through said passageway; spring inea-ns acting on said valve and tending to move it toward its closed position; a solenoid surrounded by the outer tubular member and surrounding the inner tubular member; a stern extending axially inside the inner tubular mem er and movable endwise therein under Athe control of said solenoid; and a. motion transmitting connection between said stem and the movable valve element.

7. In a device of the character described: annular magnetic 'Field producing means magnetically permeable frame means having a part encircled by said eld producing means, said frame means providing a conducting path for magnetic flux produced by the eld producing means and having a tubular portion spaced from and lying intermediate other portions of the frame means to deine an air gap across which the flux is concentrated; a second annular eld producing means rncvably mounted on the frame means in said gap and encirclingsaid tubular portion of the frame means, said second field producing means being movable by repulsion in consequence of energization of one of said field producing means to produce a magnetic iield thereabout which, at a portion of said air gap, opposes the held of the other field producing means; means for supporting said second iield producing means in a predetermined position in said air gap and for constraining the second field producing means to repulsion produced motion coaxally of said tubular portion of the i'rame means to another position, said last named ineans including a stem connected with the second field producing means and received lengthwise in said tubular portion of the frame a control member movable from one position to another; a connection between said control member and the stem whereby the position of the control member is determined by the position of the second eld producing means.

RUSSELL B. 1Vr TTHIEWS.

aeterenoes in the die of this patent NETE@ STA'I'ES PATENTS Name Date d Thomson May 17, 188'? .E Hebe Jan. 27, 1914 i Gold Jan. l1, 1916 a l-ibbard Aug. 23, 1927 3 Basen June 5, 1928 d Tromov Nov. 13, 1934 l Sprenkle Oct. 8, 194:0 l ObsZa-rney Aug. 21, 1945 

